Pro card or not

I was having a chat with the owner of the gym I attend. We were talking about some of the â€śup and comingâ€? amateurs. We discussed how many have had a hard road ahead of them yet with perseverance they manage to earn their pro card.

Then, the owner of the gym made a statement that shook me. He said â€śwhat good is it for a guy to turn pro when he cannot do anything in the pro ranks?â€? In other words, why win your pro card when youâ€™ll be a bad professional bodybuilder and possibly place very low to guys like Dexter, Ronnie, Darrem, Melvin, Jay and Markus.

What do you guys think? Is it better to not get a pro card IF the guy will be a struggling pro?

Seriously, in my situation I only care about having the ability to follow through with a plan, and make it happen.. I DO NOT want to go pro, if I for some odd reason became pro, I'd be ok with it.. Hell, I'm not even National Qualified yet, might not ever happen.. My take on competitive bodybuilding is simple:

It's a full-time job in itself, eating and training, resting, marketing yourself so Prolab or MuscleTech can help with some bills, training others, even to a lower extent of selling gear/your body and getting ready for shows.. Why would I put my 14yrs of training on the line for a piece of pewter and plastic? Some guys do have real jobs (Ronnie and Richard Jones are cops), while others just do what they can (remember Chris Duffy?).. I personally don't want things to not happen for me in this field.. If I get on a 6-page ad for a diabetic coma-inducing creatine drink, congradulate me, I did it.. If I end up on stage in the best condition ever, hands-down the overall winner, shake my hand..

Just don't say to me, "Pete! You really should go pro, brother!"..

I'd rather look the part than play it, the game is way too dirty in those ranks..

Interesting BigPete. I'm curious. How much does a pro ( who ranks out of the top six) make in money? I know everything is based on promotion, what contract the guy has and etc. but anyone has a "rough" estimate guess?

Are pro's ( that place out of the top six) making $80,000 a year, $100,000 a year or way less?

2nd part to my question. After reading what BigPete said I'm curious. How dirty does a guy has to get to make it within the top six? Are these guys taking "loads" of "super" supplements and large portions of protein to maintain their monstrous size?

Interesting BigPete. I'm curious. How much does a pro ( who ranks out of the top six) make in money? I know everything is based on promotion, what contract the guy has and etc. but anyone has a "rough" estimate guess?

Are pro's ( that place out of the top six) making $80,000 a yeár, $100,000 a year or way less?

2nd part to my question. After reading what BigPete said I'm curious. How dirty does a guy has to get to make it within the top six? Are these guys taking "loads" of "super" supplements and large portions of protein to maintain their monstrous size?

Well, most pro's spend a good amount to enter the shows, get their "supplements" for them, and travel.. that could be around $15,000 on the low side.. Too bad there's no pros here to verify that amount, I'm sure it's not uncommon..

To get in the top 6, it takes alot of everything, including lots of as you say "super" supplements, protein, training, diet, genetics.. Too many variables on that one..

I think the point is that right now there is a core group of "it" guys leading the pros. Until things change new blood is gonna have a hard time making especially if you are not a 280-300 lbs freak. And if anyone thinks these guy's "super supplements" are anywhere like what you & me take you are dillusional. It's a total juice regime IMO.

I have a friend who was thinking of going the nationals then pro route & started doing modeling on the side. He makes ridiculously more at that, at a lighter & more manageble weight, than he did in competitions. I think bigpetefox has the right idea. What comes, comes. Enjoy it.

On the topic of how much these guys make, I read in a Flex that the night before the Mr. O there is a debate between judges and the athletes about how much money the winner should get..That true or just more Flex bull****?

I hate to say this but Bodybuilding has seen better days.The shows that I have been to recently barely had enough competitors to have a show.The same 3 old guys were in the mens open,masters 35 and up,then 45 and over were the same people.I remember in the late 70's and early 80's bodybulding's golden era shows were everywhere I remember when AL Beckles won the New England Grand Prix 1981

I here YA Pete when you say all those years invested.even though I took 8 years off I had trained for 20 years (dam I am old)...Hey lets face it, I think we all would like a pro card,but not to fly all over the world and compete.I do what I do because there is something about bodybuilding that I love.I love competing,I love the smell back stage of the mint julip.I love also the shows that give you raisins and honey back stage..Why I chose bodybuilding(I should say it choose me) with no money to be made in it and we all know its expensive to compete on a regular basis...So im content to do this as a hobby.....more fun that way.